California Lawyer contacted Chris Whetzel with a moody cover subject: the backroom plotting behind California's Proposition #8. For months, the people backing the case had been operating in stealth mode to challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which had declared, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.” 

The art direction of the article was to focus on the secretive planning aspect, as if this is a movie scene when the bank heist plan is being planned.

Chris studied old movie stills to get that brooding, noir atmosphere. He added the partially open door at the art director’s suggestion to increase the drama and accommodate text.